Whaling City Sound is proud to announce that on Feb. 12, the project will be the first vinyl album release on the label. It was specially mastered for vinyl by Mike Fosenkemper of Turtletone Studios, New York City, and it has that special, warm sound only found on vinyl.

Jason Miles says of the release, “we are thrilled that Whaling City Sound agreed just how special this music and project are, and made the investment as their first vinyl release. These days it is hard to get such a commitment, and we thank them for their belief in the global possibilities of this music.”

Influenced by Miles Davis’s small electric ensembles of the early 1970’s that had Keith Jarrett, Jack Dejohnette, Michael Henderson, Gary Bartz and Airto , Kind of New visits the spirit of the new fusion music that spawned such bands as Weather Report, Return to Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra, the Headhunters and others.

After performing at the Blue Note NY, the Berks Jazz Fest, the Hudson Valley Jazz Festival and others, the project now has global representation and is looking forward to performing for crowds at festivals, clubs and other venues around the world.

The album is available from whalingcitysound.com and all outlets including amazon through naxosusa.com

“I’ve been playing Kind of New on my WPFW radio show in Washington DC. Our listeners love it.”- Rusty Hassan, WPFW in D.C.

‘Kind of New’ receives a 4 star review on JazzWise Magazine

‘Kind of New’ on MOJA Radio’s Word and Music

(click above image for complete article)

Even the title of Kind of New tells you where Ingrid Jensen and Jason Miles are coming from. This suite of compositions use Jensen’s horn as the primary soloist against a bank of grooves directed by keyboardist James, largely from his Rhodes. The reference point, despite the title, is not Kind of Blue but those late ‘60s and early ‘70s records (though occasionally Jensen’s sound is more 1959 than 1969). The opening gives you Jensen’s wide, echoey open horn arcing out through the air before a fat bass and tight drum pattern kick in with “The Faction of Cool” — a track that uses the slow funk tempo of those great ‘70s jams to allow Jensen to really explore the space.

Though the Jason Miles arrangements are certainly tighter and more programmed than the improvised grooves of Davis’ ‘70s bands (including the judicious use of B3 organ sounds and precise percussion parts from Cyro Baptista), the inclusion of shadowy bass clarinet parts is an explicit reference to the role that Bennie Maupin played on Bitches Brew. “Shirley” is pretty melody (not particularly similar to ‘70s Miles Davis) etched with bass clarinet. More plainly, “Close to the Action” uses bass clarinet as a smoky counterpoint that makes this music — while certainly much cleaner than ‘70s-era Davis — a far cry from the sanitized fusion that earned the word “smooth”.

The overdriven Rhodes groove of “Ferrari” should remind you of vintage Herbie Hancock, and then the alternation between Jensen’s Harmon-muted sound and then a soprano sax that serpentines much like Wayne or Dave Liebman or Sonny Fortune back in the day. The inclusion, at the program’s end, of a mysterious and haunting version of Shorter’s Bitches Brew class “Sanctuary” pretty much seals the deal. But the next tune (not listed on the CD booklet, reminds us that Davis himself wasn’t finished in the ‘70s. The real closer is “Jean Pierre”, a concert staple of Miles Davis in his comeback period, a bumping tune with an impish children’s song melody that was one of the coolest things Miles did in the last ten years of his life. Nice.

Jason Miles/Ingrid Jensen CD review on Ken Frankling’s Jazz Notes

Kind of New, Russian Review

Woman playing jazz on the trumpet, relatively few of those who make it great – even less. A native of Canada, Ingrid Jensen – one of them. After graduating from the renowned Berklee College, Ingrid worked in one of the best big bands of the world, Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, several times nominated for Dzhyuno Canadian analog of Grammy, has played with many famous jazz world. Her partner on the new project also is one of those. The producer and keyboardist Jason Miles got worldwide recognition when Marcus Miller introduced him to the circle of musicians who worked with the late Miles Davis. “Black Magician” in his memoirs called Jason’s “genius software synthesizer music” – do the best certification?

At Jensen and Miles have worked in 2009 when Ingrid played one night with a group of Global Noize, led by Jason Miles. But it was an episode, and now we are talking about a big and very ambitious project. Its name – Kind Of New – very clear allusion to one of the greatest albums of Miles Davis’ Kind Of Blue. Indeed, it is creativity that Davis was the starting point for the joint flight sound Ingrid and Jason. But while they were inspired not made-up in the title Kind Of Blue, and the work is much more recent, the time of birth of electrified jazz-rock, the famous concert box set of five discs The Cellar Door Sessions 1970, published in 2005. It was there with Miles Davis plays the Fender Rhodes elektrofortepyano young Keith Jarrett then.

The combination of sound and keyboard pipe framed and supported by the rhythm section, saxophone, and (in one track) guitar – a sound that is prepared for you, Ingrid and Jason. Classic jazz-rock, funk enriched reminiscent reinterpreted to date are the most recent Davis albums in which he played Jason Miles – it’s the music that they embodied the Kind Of New. Together Ingrid and Jason wrote nine songs, two composed Miles with Harrell and Michael Brecker and Wayne Shorter Sanctuary – the only cover on the album. That last play with Seeing Through the Rain, and a pair of interludes – the only island of calm and tranquility in this album. All other compositions with their tough funk rhythms and synth accents, like the Super City and Close to the Action, is unlikely to allow you to sit still. I note another Ferrari, play, composed in memory of Jason them with Miles Davis road trips – here Ingrid usually plays smooth sound added to the voice of his trumpet sensual vibration. At the height of the two leaders and assisted the project musicians, particularly the saxophonist Jay Rodriguez. In a word, spectacular album that gives jazz lovers experienced the opportunity to recall the heyday of jazz-rock and young – imagine how it was.http://jazzquad.ru/index.pl?act=PRODUCT&id=4208

“A better title by keyboardist Jason Miles and trumpeter Ingrid Miles might have been “Kind of Brew” as the electronic sounds on this attractive disc seem more akin to Miles Davis first electronic session than his ’59 classic. Nevertheless, Jensen’s got a sweet and gently swinging sound to her horn, and Miles mixes B3s and all sorts of things that go plunk in the night with a rotating rhythm team as well as guitarist Nir Felder, Jay Rodriguez/ts-bs-ss-bcl and Jeff Coffin/ts-bs-ss. There’s a lot of funky blues that sounds like a vintage CTI session with Freddie Hubbard on ”The Faction of Cool” and “Ferrari” and Wayne Shorter’s “Sanctuary” has a moody and spacey feel along with Jensen’s gasping horn. There’s some vintage 70s funk with wacka-wooka guitar on “Kat’s Eye” and “Cuper City” has some excellent latin percussion along with Rodriguez’s gurgling baritone. The mixture of drummers varies the feel from Mike Clark’s lunar soul to Gene Lake’s deep pocket, but the overall wall paper makes for a rich and thick carpet of hip sounds and deep grooves.”Grammy Award-winning producer/keyboardist Jason Miles and
acclaimed trumpeter Ingrid Jensen celebrate their superb Whaling City Sound Records debut recording, Kind Of New, at The Blue Note, on Monday July 13, 2015 .

“Ingrid plays trumpet and flugelhorn with all the brilliance and fire of a true virtuoso, following the spirit of the muse as she creates. Warm,sensitive, exciting and totally honest.” – Marian McPartland

“Jason Miles has raised the level of excellence for the musicians who have had the good fortune of working with him, myself included. The work he did with my friends, Miles Davis and Marcus Miller have helped to define the modern face of jazz music.” – Roberta Flack

Rave Reviews :
“Kind Of New is a superb album s uffused with the sound and spirit of Miles Davis. But this is no pastiche – producer/keyboardist Jason Miles and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen stamp their own voices on an array of melodies, harmonies and rhythms, that hit both the head and the heart. Even today, people ask: ‘I wonder what Miles would be doing now?’ We’ll never know of
course, but there’s a good chance that he would be making music like this.”
– George Cole, author of The Last Miles – the music of Miles Davis 1980-1991

“Jason works the Fender Rhodes and organ for maximum texture behind a piercing Jensen while a funky electric bass and power drums are joined by a range of horns and percussion support. A new chapter in fusion’s evolution .”
– Marc Meyers, Jazzwax.com

“Jensen’s horn runs the gamut as Miles’ electric backdrops and the tidy band gamely shift gears and switch colors like dressers: she jaunts a self-conscious, careful runway strut on “Faction of Cool”; nails carefully scripted hits on “Super City”; and gets comfy in the blues-drenched vernacular of “Shirley” (for singer Horn).”
– Fred Bouchard – The New York City Jazz Record

“The album title is a play on Miles Davis‘ immortal Kind of Blue, but it’s not hubris for this team to reference the master; Jason Miles was Davis’ keyboard player for several years. This delightful disc features Ingrid Jensen on trumpet, and while the tracks occasionally evoke memories of Davis’ Jack Johnson period, the groove and melodies are rooted in a more accessible foundation. Mellow but never, ever falling into the tepid “smooth jazz” trap, K ind of New works equally as well as rewarding subject of active listening as it would for groovy background music for your next cocktail party.” – Musoscribe

“Miles Davis fusing elements of rock and funk into his music was nothing short of revolutionary and people still get into heated debates over the quality of the music that Davis released during this period. But just as people overlook Maggot Brain when discussing P-Funk, this free flowing brand of jazz/funk/rock fusion sometimes gets excised from the contemporary jazz canon. So the conscious effort that Jason Miles and Ingrid Jensen make to rehabilitate it on K ind of New is definitely welcome. Solidly Recommended .” – Howard Dukes, Soul Tracks

“ Miles and Jensen hit it far out of the park ” – Chris Spector, Midwest Record Review

Legendary saxophonist Joe Lovano is coming to the 25th annual Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest, set for April 10-19. When Jason Miles and Ingrid Jensen debut their “Kind of New” project, Lovano will be part of their all-star ensemble. Miles, Jensen and Lovano will be performing Saturday, April 18, 7:30 p.m., at the Miller Center for the Arts on the Reading Area Community College campus. They will be joined by Jay Rodriguez, Mike Clark, Buster Hemphill, plus special guest Lionel Loueke.
“We are thrilled and honored to have Joe Lovano join us for the Berks Jazz Fest concert,” said Jason Miles. “Look forward to performing the ‘Kind of New’ music with Ingrid, Joe and the rest of the ensemble.”

If you enjoyed the music of Weather Report and Miles Davis, mixed with the vibe of CTI Records, you do not want to miss this concert.

Hailed by The New York Times as “one of the greatest musicians in jazz history,” Grammy Award-winning Lovano has distinguished himself for some three decades as a prescient and path-finding force in the arena of creative music. He has earned praise not just for his compelling tone and improvisational ability, but also for his forward-thinking presentation of new musical ideas and ensemble concepts.

For Jason Miles, the inspiration for these new original compositions was Miles Davis’ Cellar Door Sessions, a recently discovered collection of live recordings captured at the legendary Washington, D.C., club in 1970.

The 10-day Berks Jazz Fest features the best in contemporary and traditional jazz, fusion, blues, R&B, gospel and more. In addition to Jason Miles and Ingrid Jensen, the lineup also features Dianne Reeves; Kirk Whalum’s Gospel According to Jazz with special guest Yolanda Adams; Boney James; Gerald Albright; Pieces of a Dream; Pat Martino Trio; Incognito; New York Voices with the Reading Pops Orchestra; Brian Culbertson; Strings Attached featuring Larry Coryell, Jimmy Bruno, Jack Wilkins, and many more. More than 150 events at large venues, clubs and restaurants throughout the Reading area-something for everyone.

The Heart of The Groove

New Bedford, MA, For Release April 7, 2015 —You don’t hear fresh grooves and melodies much these days on the contemporary jazz scene, a vibrant culture that had its roots in the 1970’s, with such artists as Miles Davis, Weather Report and The Crusaders and was also exemplified by the output of such labels as CTI Records. This seems a shame. Because in the hands of the right musicians, those vintage grooves, that driving beat and electric tempo can really soar. It makes you wonder why we haven’t heard much from that musical neighborhood in some time.Thankfully, this groove runs through the very heart of Kind of New, the debut collaboration featuring Jason Miles and Ingrid Jensen, out now on Whaling City Sound. You can feel the vibe from its very first notes.Renowned producer, keyboardist and conceptualist Jason Miles’ first-hand intimate experience working with Miles Davis informs this new collaboration, and indeed its title is a wink at the master from whom he learned so much. Initially hired for his mastery of synthesizer programming, Jason became an integral part of the groundbreaking 1986 album Tutu and its two follow-ups, Amandla and Music From Siesta. The Brooklyn native had become good friends with the legend in the ’80s, and he absorbed all that his mentor imparted.Miles Davis’ work with Keith Jarrett however, when the latter was twenty-three years old, behind the Fender Rhodes in 1970-71, was a great inspiration to Jason and was a point of departure in the creation of Kind of New. Though he’d done over a dozen albums as a bandleader, and many more as a producer, including tributes to Weather Report, Ivan Lins (which netted Jason a Grammy) and others, nothing excited him the way Jarrett’s Rhodes did on Miles’ early ’70s live work, as exemplified by the legendary Cellar Door Sessions. Jason says “I never got the Keith Jarrett connection and why Miles [Davis] thought he was so funky until I heard him killing on the Fender Rhodes on that 6-CD set.” Jason wanted to revisit that instrument, because in this progressive setting it’s been ignored for years, yet it was undeniably the impetus that drew so many younger people into jazz in the late 60’s and early 70’s.Ingrid Jensen, a Berklee grad and NYC-based trumpeter, grew up in British Columbia, Canada with the brave sounds of Bitches Brew coursing through her soul. She recalls the fun she had with her rock band jamming over Bitches Brew tracks. Jason Miles had known Ingrid and has admired her great talent for many years when he invited her late one night in 2009 to sit in with his band Global Noize. She blew the roof off the place! It was then that he was convinced they needed to do something, to nurture a project together. Now they’ve concocted this truly progressive album, the culmination of their collective years of experience.

Kind Of New

Faithful to their inspiration, the duo waste no time getting into the groove. You can hear it from the outset on “The Faction of Cool,” which gets its lift from Jensen’s husband, drummer Jon Wikan, and continues on funky electric tracks like “Super City,” that feature exciting exchanges with baritone saxophonist Jay Rodriguez. On the deep grooving “Kat’s Eye” you can hear how Miles’ synth bass lines and Steve Wolf’s drum programming propel Jensen’s searing trumpet performance. Guitarist Nir Felder is also featured. Then there’s a gorgeous dénouement in the form of the beautiful ballad “Shirley” (dedicated to Shirley Horn) that features the great rhythm section of bassist James Genus and Gene Lake on brushes.

The music moves and undeniably grooves. A quick listen to the pulsating pace of “Close to the Action” reveals a lockstep band with a penchant for some truly nasty grooving, evoking Tutu-era Miles Davis, featuring the solid performance of drummer Gene Lake. There are a few areas Miles and Jensen allow for a quick rest, a minor pause, as on the liquidy romantic Wayne Shorter composition “Sanctuary” (which was on Bitches Brew) and the atmospheric “Seeing Through the Rain” (a tune dedicated to Ferguson, Missouri), which features Jensen exploring some edgy melodicism along with Jeff Coffin’s saxophone symphony.

But for the most part Kind of New pushes its way into your ears, your feet, for a truly engaging listen. Along with “Sanctuary,” two additional tracks were recorded live at The Shape Shifter Lab in Brooklyn: “Ferrari,” written by Jason about driving with Miles Davis down the Pacific Coast Highway, and which features an inspired electric piano performance; and “Street Vibe.” Jason adds, “Ingrid and I also wanted to present ourselves in a live, spontaneous situation, to give the audience an example of what this band is about.

“When I first approached Ingrid about this and we started playing gigs,” says Miles, “I said to her, ‘Let’s see if we can really grow this thing into something, for real.’ And that’s what we’re trying to do.” Kind of New is real, that’s undeniable, and it’s an exciting step in a new direction.

“Kind Of New is a superb album suffused with the sound and spirit of Miles Davis. But this is no pastiche – producer/keyboardist Jason Miles and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen stamp their own voices on an array of melodies, harmonies and rhythms, that hit both the head and the heart. Even today, people ask: ‘I wonder what Miles would be doing now?’ We’ll never know of course, but there’s a good chance that he would be making music like this.”

George Cole, author of The Last Miles – the music of Miles Davis 1980-1991

“Using Miles Davis’ expansive output as their core inspiration, these contemporary jazz luminaries have delivered an impressive release that seamlessly bridges the past, present and future of their genre. It’s an aural time machine that explores how Miles might have harnessed his muse if he was still around today.” — Anil Prasad, Innerviews

“The best combo of modern and rootsy space funk heard in many moons, maybe even years. jason miles’ electro beds and arrangements, forward and retro, are luxurious and funky. Ingrid Jensen’s trumpet tone carries the aggressive and cerebral melodies beautifully. i’ve never heard her sound better, ever. new direction ensemble music to which you can groove, rock and drift way. It’s a dangerous, trap-laden genre to walk into, but these two take the risks and pull it off flawlessly.” – Kent Zimmerman

“The Jason Miles and Ingrid Jensen collaboration on the Kind of New project is a winner. Ingrid’s brilliant trumpet bring their compelling compositions to life. “Look forward to presenting Ingrid and Jason and Kind of New at the 25th annual Berks Jazz Fest in April.” -John Ernesto GM-Berks jazz Fest